A Note from the Director
Ralph Nixon, MD, PhD - Director |
Welcome to the Center of Excellence on Brain Aging at New York University Langone Medical Center. For nearly four decades, NYU has been a pioneer in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and related memory disorders. As the Silberstein Alzheimer's Institute, we have been at the forefront of discovery and have achieved significant success in understanding and treating the disease. Given our history of scientific progress, numerous accolades, and world-renown recognition in the field of brain aging and dementia, we were recently recognized as a Center of Excellence at NYU Langone. |
As such, today we are a larger, more comprehensive and fully-integrated institution, devoted to research and clinical advances toward the treatment and cure of all neurodegenerative diseases affecting cognition. We are a collaborative Center with a broad range of investigators and clinicians whose primary focus is on revolutionary research and clinical aspects of brain aging, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and many associated clinical conditions. Our designation as a Center of Excellence enables us to consolidate and expand our research activities across the medical center, thereby allowing us to translate breakthrough laboratory advances into innovative therapies utilizing medicine, state-of-the-art imaging and technology, as well as psychosocial approaches.
We welcome you to our Center and encourage you to browse our website. We hope our site will offer you the information and help you may need to guide you in making decisions or providing you with knowledge. Early detection, accurate diagnosis and effective treatment are crucial to slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and thereby improving one’s quality of life. Though we are not able to prevent these diseases, we believe that their onset may be potentially forestalled and disability lessened with expert medical care. If you are taking the first step in selecting a facility for care, I’d like to offer you a few reasons why you may want to consider our Center:
Our emphasis is on the patient, single-mindedly focused on providing expert diagnosis and compassionate care. We specialize in diagnostic testing; assessments for atypical causes of memory loss; MRI scanning; neurological evaluations; psychotherapy/counseling; and clinical trials. We provide an integrated, comprehensive, multi-disciplinary team of medical professionals from various disciplines including neurologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, internists and nurses.
Our support is to the family, imparting empathetic support and effective coping tools to those suffering alongside the patient. Though Alzheimer’s cannot be averted at this time, its impact can be moderated. We believe the caregiver is as important in the spectrum of care as the patient. Our patient teams include social workers and geriatric specialists who consult and work with family members and care givers to ease their burden and suffering.
Our commitment is to research and discovery, being dedicated to scientific and technological advances. We continue to forge new paths in research and innovative treatments, promoting speedily the translation of findings to the bedside and offering our patients various groundbreaking treatment options and clinical trials well in advance of other institutions.
An estimated 5.2 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease and 19 million have a family member with the disease. These numbers have more than doubled since 1980 and with the graying of the large baby-boomer generation, the number of Americans with Alzheimer's disease, other dementias and age-related cognitive impairments will continue to grow -- by 2050, this number could reach beyond 16 million. The cost of care at that point will stretch to more than $1 trillion. Therefore, it is imperative that we continue to search for preventive measures and treatments and step-up our advocacy for more research dollars to be spent on this devastating illness.
Unyielding in our pursuit for a cure, we at NYU Langone Medical Center stand committed to defeating Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative cognitive disorders. We hope you will join us in this endeavor.
Ralph A. Nixon, M.D., Ph.D.
